How to Stop Stressing About Work While on Vacation

So you've finally treated yourself to a reward for all your hard work over the past year. After all the stress of managing projects, meeting deadlines and putting in long hours, you're finally jetting off on a well-earned break.

Whether it's two weeks on the beach doing nothing or an active adventure in the great outdoors, time off is vital for de-stressing and recharging your batteries. Even by getting on the plane in the first place, you've taken the first step, given how much paid vacation time currently goes unused in the US.

But there's a problem - every time you try to relax and switch off, your thoughts keep drifting back to the office. How are things going on that big project? How big is my inbox going to be when I get back? And just like that, all the benefits of your break have been lost.

Here are a few things you can do to make sure your vacation is just as stress-free as it should be.

1. Plan ahead

Good forward planning is just as important on your vacations as any other business task.  Make sure you're not leaving any important projects half-finished - or at the very least, in a state where they can happily be put on hold or carry along without direct supervision.

2. Delegate your tasks

Another essential key to a stress-free vacation is being able to leave things in the hands of colleagues you trust. Delegation is a vital skill for a good manager at the best of times - no one likes having their boss trying to micromanage them - but it's even more important when you're not there.

Identify a couple of employees you trust and make sure they've got a comprehensive list of everything they'll need before you go. Picking the right people is vital - they not only need to understand your responsibilities, but have the independence and initiative to do it without checking in or asking for clarifications.

3. Disconnect from work

Once away, the number one thing you can do is put the phone down and switch off. This is probably easier said than done, with research suggesting two-thirds of Americans check their phones at least 160 times a day. Breaking this habit is tough, but even if you're unwilling to put down your phone completely, you should - at the very least - remove work-related distractions.

For instance, make sure you turn off email notifications for your business account. Even if you don't plan to engage with work, all it can take is one glance at a notification with an intriguing or worrying subject line and you can be pulled back down the rabbit hole of your inbox.

4. Get outdoors

You know what you want from a vacation better than we do, but if de-stressing from the office is a priority, activities that get you out and into nature are among the best things you can do to forget about work. Even if you're not the outdoorsy type, it's been proven that time under the open skies improves your mood, reduces stress and boosts overall wellbeing.

5. Have a re-engagement plan

The worst thing you can spend your vacation doing is thinking about what you'll need to do on your first morning back. So it might be useful to put together a simple plan for how you reconnect and switch back on before you leave.

If you're able to do so, a 'transition period' - for example, blocking out a couple of hours just to go through your emails and prioritize how they should be dealt with - can prevent worrying about things getting on top of you on your return.